The £204m transaction continues an acquisition trail of the London-based property group with a secondary listing on the JSE Securities Exchange SA.

The Victoria Centre acquisition will boost the value of acquisitions concluded by Liberty this year to more than £500m.

Liberty held a 20% direct interest in Victoria Centre before the acquisition under review.

The remaining 80% was held by a partnership called Baffin. Liberty owned 23,2% of this partnership which placed its effective interest in Victoria Centre at 38%.

Liberty's chairman, Donald Gordon, said the acquisition was in line with the group's strategy of focusing on dominant regional shopping centres in the UK.

'We are delighted to be continuing and increasing our group's involvement with the Victoria Centre, which goes right back to its original construction and opening in 1972,' said Gordon. He said the centre had a proven successful track record, attracting about 23-million customers a year.

Liberty's share price closed at R90,25 on the JSE yesterday.